Sounds of Innovation

In this episode, we speak with the Chairman of Qatar Tourism about how Qatar is shaping the future of global travel through AI, sustainability, and world-class events. Following the FIFA World Cup and as host of Web Summit Qatar, the country is positioning itself as a hub for tourism, technology, and entrepreneurship.

We explore Qatar’s family-friendly tourism strategy, digital transformation in travel, the Visit Qatar app, and how sustainability is built into destinations like Msheireb Downtown Doha and Khor Al Adaid (the Inland Sea). The conversation also covers major events, creators, and talent attraction, and what truly differentiates Qatar in the global tourism landscape.

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This episode was recorded in January 2026 at the World Economic Forum. Live from Davos, Conal Byrne, CEO of iHeartMedia’s Digital Audio Group, moderates a dynamic conversation with Lenovo CFO Winston Cheng and Alex Rodriguez, Chairman and CEO of A-ROD CORP, Co-Chairman of the MN Timberwolves and Lynx, and Major League Baseball icon. Together, they explore what it takes to perform at the highest level—whether on the field or in the boardroom. From daily pressure and long-term strategy to the rise of AI, data, and talent, this episode unpacks how leaders adapt, compete, and build winning teams in a rapidly changing world.

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This episode was recorded live at Web Summit Qatar in February 2026. This special return episode of Inside the Studio finds Jordan Runtagh exploring the intersection of cutting-edge technology and timeless human expression: music. His guest is Dana Al Meer, widely hailed as Qatar’s first homegrown pop superstar — a cultural pioneer who performed at the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2022 FIFA World Cup and later represented her country at the Innervision Song Contest. Beyond the global stage, Al Meer serves as director of Music Lab Qatar, mentoring the next generation of artists — and in this conversation, she reflects on creativity, identity, and what it means to find your voice in a rapidly changing world.

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This episode was recorded live at Web Summit Qatar in February 2026. In this episode, Matt Frederick speaks with veteran war correspondent Hoda Abdel-Hamid, whose decades reporting from conflict zones, including Iraq and Gaza, offer a rare, firsthand perspective on the realities of war. Together, they explore what it means to tell human stories from the front lines, the responsibility of bearing witness, and the lasting emotional impact of documenting trauma. The conversation also examines how modern media shapes our understanding of conflict—and why, beyond politics and headlines, the most important stories are always about people.

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This episode was recorded live at Web Summit Qatar in February 2026. From a basement in the early days of podcasting to one of iHeart’s marquee shows, Matt Frederick has seen just about everything — including, apparently, the road to Area 51. In this episode of our Podcasters-on-Podcasters series, Jordan Runtagh and Matt talk about the origin of Stuff They Don’t Want You to Know, how great co-host chemistry really works, why listeners feel so deeply connected to podcasts, and how one strange-news story can spiral into a full-blown research obsession. Toss in some Tesla, some UFO lore, some Bob Lazar, a cameo from Tom DeLonge, and more X-Files energy than is probably medically recommended, and you’ve got an episode that’s smart, funny, and just conspiratorial enough to keep things interesting.

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This episode was recorded live at Web Summit Qatar in February 2026. What do you get when you mix an accidental start at MTV, decades of interviewing music legends, and a Beatles-level obsession with storytelling? In this episode of our Podcasters-on-Podcasters series, Matt Frederick sits down with Jordan Runtagh for a funny, candid conversation about how a trivia-loving music journalist became one of iHeart’s go-to narrative storytellers. 

Along the way: interviews with icons like Tom Morello and Julian Lennon, stories from touring with Ringo Starr, and a behind-the-scenes look at how audio storytelling can bring the past vividly to life.

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This episode was recorded live at Web Summit Qatar in February 2026. 'Too Much Information' is a new iHeartRadio podcast that gives you the secret history, behind-the-scenes details and little-known fascinating facts about you... 

Your long-lost legends of long-winded lore are back, reporting live from the 2026 Web Summit Conference in Doha, Qatar! Together they proudly present the second installment of their pop culture anecdote grab-bag: TMI: Oops, All Digressions. 

This time around, they dive into the origins (and alternate-universe casting) of the James Bond franchise — including the hilariously un-spy-like way Ian Fleming stole the name “James Bond” from a real-life bird expert, plus the many almost-Bonds who nearly wore the tux. From there, the conversation takes the scenic route into how Bond indirectly helped inspire Indiana Jones, why Spielberg never got his 007 shot (but still got the last laugh), and a detour through Terminator lore — from Arnold’s gun-range training to the surprising movie that earned him his biggest payday. 

Meanwhile, Heigl breaks down the proud, baffling tradition of electric jug music via the 13th Floor Elevators, and Jordan nerds out on the strange history of currency (stone money, cheese wheels as collateral, and why your penny is living on borrowed time) before sliding into the origins of playing cards — capped off by the mind-melter that there are more possible shuffles of a deck than there are atoms on Earth.  

So strap in for TMI: Oops, All Digressions! No structure. No safety net. Just facts. (Recorded February 2, 2026.) 

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This episode was recorded live at Web Summit Qatar in February 2026. Oz is at the Web Summit in Qatar this week, and he’s taking you with him. This episode was recorded live on stage with Wired’s global editorial director Katie Drummond. Katie and Oz talk about what it’s like to cover this moment, from DOGE and tech titans in the White House to AI’s rapid ubiquity. Katie also shares why Americans need to wake up to what is happening outside the US to discover the future of technology.

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This episode was recorded live at Web Summit Qatar in February 2026. Cristóbal Valenzuela co-founded Runway to rethink how movies are made, and now his technology is spreading across Hollywood. Cristóbal sits down with Oz to discuss how far AI media tools have come in just the past six years, and why the next leap forward could happen even faster than anyone expects. He also addresses many artists' AI fears, by saying that film has always evolved alongside technological breakthroughs, and that AI is simply the next chapter in that long history. And finally, Cristóbal and Oz explore Runway's next frontier after Hollywood and why video models might be the key to training humanoid robots.

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In this episode of The Creators Cult, I talk with Kate Mansberger, Podcast Development Coordinator at iHeartMedia.We discuss how podcasters can develop their content and the fundamentals of launching a successful podcast.

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